Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I didn’t have much else to do in Vermillion so I decided to go to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I am a huge fan of the Indiana Jones movies so I basically had to see this one but I heard of the mix reviews that are out there and have read a couple of them. So I had my doubts.

The movie has earned some pretty good revenue this weekend as well by the way, about $125 million dollars worth.

The movie starts off with Indiana Jones, Harrison Ford of course, captured by the Russians who want him to find an artifact that he helped study. The artifact is stored in Area 51 and they have Indy find where the artifact is. He finds it but is outnumbered and the Russians are able to make off with the strange artifact.

The FBI then gets ahold of Indy and question him and are suspicious of him. They are so suspicious of him they have him removed from his professor post at the university.

Indy is heading off to somewhere, but before he can leave, a young kid named Mutt Williams who is played by Shia LaBeouf, tracks Indy down on the train he is leaving on. Mutt tells Indy about a mutual friend “Ox” who went off looking for a crystal skull, one that is rumored to have great powers if returned to its rightful home. Ox sent a letter to Mutt for Indy to read, but before Indy can read it, KGB members try and kidnap Indy and Mutt.

They get away and start their trail to find the crystal skull so they can find Ox and Mutt’s mom, who was kidnapped by the Russians. Indy and Mutt must also avoid the natives in Peru, where the skull is. The Russians are also looking for the skull, and Indy must beat the Russians to it to prevent them from getting the crystal skull and returning it to its home.

This movie takes place in 1957 so Russia is still a “red” state. It has also been 19 years since the last Indiana Jones movie. You can tell the age has taken its toll on Ford, but there are jokes about it in the movie.

The plot is topic of debate with the movie. It isn’t a typical Indiana Jones plot. Yes, Indy is out treasure hunting and preventing evil from taking over. But the plot is alien based, which makes the movie very hookie. I just couldn’t buy it as a typical Indiana Jones movie because of it.

Cate Blanchett who plays the Russian in charge of finding the crystal skull has a horrible accent. You can tell it isn’t even close. But this has been Blanchett’s selling point. Most characters she has ever played she has totally overacted.  Her reactions in the movie really aren’t genuine as well.

Also, Indy is reunited with Marion Ravenwood, his old flame from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Once they start having feelings for each other it is way too lovely dovey, because that’s not what Indy is like from the past movies. He lets his swagger do the talking, but now he has softened I guess.

These three things really helped drag down the movie. I love Indiana Jones and for as much as I wanted to like the movie, I couldn’t. If you are an Indy fan and see the movie, maybe you can talk me into liking it.

Here’s to hoping they don’t make another Indy movie now and let the legacy just speak for its self, but unfortunately with the money it raked in, we will probably see another Indy movie in three to four years. Fortunately, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg don’t have any plans for another one yet.

2 out of 5 stars

—-Justin Rust